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“We’re not wrong,” Michael said softly

Let the phone ring, I thought Let it be Briggs, calling to tell ht

The first thing I’d done when Agent Briggs had handed over the Mackenzie McBride file was profile the suspect: a parolee who’d disappeared around the same time Mackenzie had Unlike Michael’s ability, my skill set wasn’t limited to facial expressions or posture Given a handful of details, I could crawl into another person’s skull and iine what it would be like to be thes that they did

Behavior Personality Environment

The suspect in Mackenzie’s case had no focus The abduction was too well planned It didn’t add up

I’d co for soent Precise I’d half begged, half coerced Lia into going through witness testi related to the case, hoping she’d catch so lie And finally, she had The McBride family’s attorney had issued a statement to the press on behalf of his clients It had see as off-key singing was to a person with perfect pitch

“No one can edy like this”

The laas young, ent, precise—and when he’d said those words, he’d been lying There was one person who could make sense of what had happened, a person who didn’t think it was a tragedy

The person who’d taken Mackenzie

According to Michael, the McBrides’ lawyer had felt a thrill justthat meant there was a chance—however s reer, better, smarter than the FBI

“Cassie” Dean Redding burst into the room, and my chest constricted Dean was quiet and self-contained He almost never raised his voice

“Dean?”

“They found her,” Dean said “Cassie, they found her on his property, exactly where Sloane’s schematics said they would She’s alive”

I ju to cry or throw up or shriek Dean srin He beamed, and the expression transformed him Chocolate-brown eyes sparkled underneath the blond hair that hung perpetually in his face A dimple I’d never seen appeared in one cheek

I threw rip and launched myself at Michael

Michael caught me and let out a whoop Dean sat down on the ared in between the the heat from both of their bodies, and all I could think was that Mackenzie was going to get to go home

“Is this a private party, or can anyone join?”

The three of us turned to see Lia in the doorway She was dressed from head to toe in black, a white silk scarf tied neatly around her neck She arched an eyebrow at us: cool and cal

“Admit it, Lia,” Michael said “You’re just as happy as we are”

Lia eyed me She eyed Michael She eyed Dean “Honestly,” she said, “I doubt that anyone is as happy as Cassie is at this exact moment”

I was getting better at ignoring Lia’s suggestive little digs, but this one hit its target, dead center Squished in between Michael and Dean, I blushed I was not going to go there—and I wasn’t going to let Lia ruin this

A grim expression on his face, Dean stood and ht say so the moment, but he didn’t He just picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder